Plasma atmospheres are widely used in thin film related fields such as chemical vapor deposition, etching, and surface treatment processes because plasma atmospheres increase the reaction efficiency of these processes and enable performance of the processes under good conditions.
Various methods of forming plasma may be used depending on purpose of the plasma. Therefore, various plasma forming apparatuses are being actively developed. Recently, a high-density plasma processing apparatus capable of increasing process efficiency has been used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Such high-density plasma processing apparatuses may include electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma processing apparatuses which use microwave sources for the resonance frequency, helicon plasma processing apparatuses which use helicon or whistler waves, inductively coupled plasma processing apparatuses which use high-temperature, low-pressure plasma, and the like.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) apparatus employing both an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus and a chemical vapor deposition apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, the ICP-CVD apparatus includes a chamber 101 formed of an insulating material and capable of maintaining a vacuum, and an antenna 102 on an upper end of the chamber 101 for generating inductively coupled plasma. The antenna 102 is connected to a first power supply 103.
A gas injection port 105 for injecting gas 104 into the chamber 101 is disposed below the antenna 102. The gas injection port 105 generally comprises a showerhead for uniformly supplying the gas 104 to the plasma formed by the antenna 102.
A chuck 107 for mounting a substrate 106 to be processed by the ICP-CVD apparatus is disposed in the chamber 101. The chuck 107 may be used to heat, cool or fix the substrate 106 to the chamber 101. A second power supply 108 is connected to the chuck 107. The second power supply 108 may be used to heat the chuck 107 or to allow the chuck 107 to function as an electrode.
A door 109 is attached to a sidewall of the chamber 101 to provide the substrate 106 access to the interior or exterior of the chamber 101. An exhaust port 111, including a vacuum pump 110 for exhausting air or gas from the chamber 101, is also attached to the sidewall.
The chemical vapor deposition apparatus deposits an insulating layer using only plasma, yielding an imperfectly decomposed source gas. As a result, the use efficiency of the source gas may decrease. In addition, since the insulating layer contains a great deal of hydrogen, it is difficult to obtain a high quality insulating layer.